Sudan University of Science and Technolgy

College of Graduate Studies

Department of English Language

The Religious Identity in

Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart (1958)and

Saud Alsanousi's The Bamboo Stalk (2015)

‫ في روايتي األشياء تتداعى لجينو أجيبي و ساق البامبو لسعود‬G‫الهوية الدينية‬

‫السنعوسي‬
A Thesis Submitted in the Fulfillment of the Requirements

for Ph. D Degree in Intercultural Communication

Submitted by:Abu-Bakr Muhammad Ahmed Abdul-Hakam

: Supervisor

Dr. Mohamed Elamin Elshingeety

:Co-supervisor

Dr. Wigdan Yagoub Sherif

2020
 Chapter One

(Summary)

1.1. Introduction

This study aims at investigating illustrations of religious identity in Chinua Achebe's

novel Things Fall Apart (1958) and Saud Alsanousi's The Bamboo Stalk (2015). It
explores types of identity dimensions and other cultural factors that influence the
formation and maintenance of religious identity portrayed in the novels. It also
attempts to study the effect of religious identity on the relations between the
characters in the novels.

This qualitative study is led by the intercultural communication theory (ICT). This
theory posits that identity is formed, maintained modified in communication (Hecht
and Lu 2014). In addition, it confirms the bidirectional influence between identity and
communication as each one affects and be impacted by the other.

The academic field of this study is IC as it is concerned with the sort of

communication that takes place when the communicators have different cultural
backgrounds. The IC theory argues that the individual can be able to perceive his own
identity through contact with those who differ with him/her in the cultural grounds.
Therefore, the two novels under-investigation can serve as two fruitful sources of data
for the IC study as both of them depict cultural clashes in two distinctive societies.

1.2. Statement of the Problem

Previous literature shows that analyses of fiction from the perspective of intercultural
communication, in general, and identity, in particular, are scarce (Fox 2003; Liu &
Zhang 2011; Wierzbicka2010; Hirvonen2014). In addition, applying the theory of
identity on fictive writings could be significant in some ways. First, imaginative
writings play an important role in depicting real life in a way that might not be found
in many of the factual stories. That is, some fictive writings provide a fruitful source
of corpus for the IC analysis that scarcely occur in a single written real-life story.
Second, fiction has its favorable preference and massive impact on the readers,
particularly the chosen novels which have attracted attention of readers and
researchers worldwide. Therefore, the study aims to deeply investigate the religious
identity expressed in the above-mentioned novels; a topic that previous research did
not give much attention.

Objectives of the Study .1.3

This study aims to:

1. Investigate how religious identity is illustrated in the dialogues between the

characters in the two novels. The focus is on two questions. Do the novels
serve as sources for the analysis of the concept of identity, since they depict
intercultural differences that occur in the Nigerian and Arab societies in
certain periods of time? How is religious identity expressed in the characters'
dialogues?
2. Show what types of identities and other cultural factors that influence the
formation and maintenance of religious identity, found in the two novels.
3. Draw attention to the effect of religious identity on the relationships between
the characters in the novel.

Research Questions .1.4

1. How is religious identity illustrated in the two novels?

2. What types of identity and social factors affect the formation and
maintenance of religious identity in the two novels?
3. What is the effect of religious identity on the relationships between the
characters in the novels?

Significance of the Study .1.5

The study is significant for the following purposes:

 It contributes to the studies in the field of intercultural communication (IC)

by applying the concept of religious identity to fictive writings; a topic which
has been scarcely studied previously.
 The study explores the role played by cultural differences in the characters'
relations and intercultural understandings.
 It could serve as teaching materials in the IC field in Sudan since Chinua
Achebe’s novel already is included in the national school curriculum.
Scope and Limitation of the Study .1.6

The focus of the current study is on investigating the concept of the religious
identity on the two fictive works and exploring the influence of the religious identity
on the character's relations as well as the effect of the other identity dimensions and
social factors on it. Thus, the study scope is limited to the religious identity and the
only source of data is the two novels.

Research Methodology .1.7

This study takes the qualitative method of data analysis as its purpose is to analyze a
written text . It uses the descriptive discourse analysis (DDA) approach guided by
the intercultural communication theory (ICT).

Research Outlines .1.8

The research will contain the following chapters:

Chapter one is an elaboration of the above-mentioned topics. Chapter two is
divided into two main sections: a) definitions of relevant concepts and b) literature
review of previous studies. Chapter three introduces the research methodology
adopted by this study for its data analysis. Chapter four contains two main sections:
a) Analysis of the Religious Identity in the Novel Things Fall Apart, and b) Analysis
of the Religious Identity in the Novel The Bamboo Stalk. Each section is divided
into sub-sections according to the chapters of each novel. Chapter five draws
conclusion that includes: a) a summary of the findings, and b) implications and
recommendation for further researches.